feeding mother cat is bleeding ?

Hello Everyone, how are you doing ?

so last week my cat gave birth to three kittens, they are growing up great they just started opening their eyes yesterday, and the mother is loving and protective of them , the problem is while she was feeding them today i noticed which i would assume clotted blood around the nipples !! i tried wiping it lightly but it won't come out and i'm too scared to put any more pressure to clean it off of her to be honest !

i'm thinking of taking her to the vet but i don't want to separate her from her kittens since she's very protective of them, even when i try lifting them up she starts screaming until i put them down. any advice on what i should and should not do ??

as you can see in the picture the upper two nipples close to her arms are small and okay since the kittens don't feed from them but the rest are like that and i don't know what is it i should be doing !

thank you very much

I would take her in. You can put her in the carrier first then put the kittens in with her. I had to do that with Lil Bit when she was nursing. 

Dried spit turns brown like that. She also may have gotten some dirt on the wet spots. Being that it's just on the fur and not on the nipple I don't think it's a problem, but of course if you're concerned it's always best to call the vet. Perhaps you could show them those pictures, hopefully they could set your mind at ease.

With kittens that young I would be very very reluctant to take them or the mother to the vet for anything not life-threatening. They could be exposed to all kinds of germs.

Apply olive or cocoanut oil to the nipples. It may be that they are sore from nursing, and the oil will help. You can also buy Udder Balm, which is non-toxic and very soothing.

Let us know how she's doing.